How do/did you feel about the return of the Enterprise-D?

[somebuddyX]

I think it was great and it's an idea I don't think a lot of people expected to happen until they started seeding the idea back in Season 2. I would legit be intrigued if anyone had the idea in the interim. I think they should have found a way to incorporate the E-E somehow, like use that instead of the E-F. Seeing how the E-D was built off the Syracuse I also wonder if someone could take all the spare parts left over when the original Enterprise got refit between TOS and TMP and slap them on another Constitution class and rebuild the NCC-1701. Like the bridge and nacelles and other stuff probably still exist and all the panelling.

 

[The Wormhole]

Why do so many people prefer the Generations version of the bridge?

It was a nice looking set, and that's just from my perspective watching the movie. And indeed, according to interviews, many involved in the production side of things fell in love with the Generations version and were saddened they only spent something like a couple weeks filming the bridge scenes for the movie before that set was destroyed.

Besides, I more recently read somewhere it's been preserved to a museum so fans can visit it.

That actual set of the Enterprise D can never be used as a museum for fans to visit, since the ramp connecting the upper and lower halves of the bridge is too steep to meet public health and safety regulations. It's the whole reason why the replica of the bridge they had at Star Trek The Experience at Vegas was built all on one level.

 

[Tomalak]

I think it was great and it's an idea I don't think a lot of people expected to happen until they started seeding the idea back in Season 2. I would legit be intrigued if anyone had the idea in the interim. I think they should have found a way to incorporate the E-E somehow, like use that instead of the E-F. Seeing how the E-D was built off the Syracuse I also wonder if someone could take all the spare parts left over when the original Enterprise got refit between TOS and TMP and slap them on another Constitution class and rebuild the NCC-1701. Like the bridge and nacelles and other stuff probably still exist and all the panelling.

The plot of the novel ‘Crossover’ was that the TOS Enterprise bridge module was installed on the USS Yorktown when she was placed in the fleet museum. Scotty jailbreaks her using the cloaking device from ‘The Enterprise Incident’ in an attempt to rescue Spock.

That actual set of the Enterprise D can never be used as a museum for fans to visit, since the ramp connecting the upper and lower halves of the bridge is too steep to meet public health and safety regulations. It's the whole reason why the replica of the bridge they had at Star Trek The Experience at Vegas was built all on one level.

Yeah, the bridge that is to be displayed as an exhibit is in fact one of the sets from The Experience.

 

[Commander Richard]

I liked the Enterprise-E gag. Not every ship has to have a heroic ending. And no, I wouldn't have wanted to see them use that ship. Would it have made more sense? Doesn't matter. This was about nostalgia and going home, and the E wouldn't have had that impact.

Only the D... Only the original bridge! [/Free Enterpise Rant]

 

[Mage]

Have people lost the ability to simply search for information? This took ten seconds:



https://screenrant.com/star-trek-picard-season-3-dave-blass-interview/

I must have been completely confused, and mixed that up with the Titan/Enterprise-G bridge. My bad.

 

[TroiFan4ever]

It made the bridge seem alive. On TNG it felt like it had too much empty space given how big it was. The extra stations made it feel like more of a true command center.

plus Worf finally gets a chair…

It was a nice looking set, and that's just from my perspective watching the movie. And indeed, according to interviews, many involved in the production side of things fell in love with the Generations version and were saddened they only spent something like a couple weeks filming the bridge scenes for the movie before that set was destroyed.

This is just my opinion; nothing more, nothing less. But the extra consoles installed on the walls were kind of pointless to me. There are the ops and con stations at the front, the tactical station behind the three seats, and then the aft stations in the back. That's quite enough.

As for the TNG bridge having "too much empty space" I actually prefer the extra space on the sides. It's nice to have space to be able to comfortably move around whereas the Generations bridge looked cramped with those side consoles that actually made the bridge look smaller. I don't mind Worf finally getting a chair though lol

You know, I find it fascinating how Generations is a popularly hated piece of Star Trek media but a good number of people like it's version of the Enterprise D bridge... whereas I actually don't hate Generations all that much (but agree that the writing for it was mediocre at best but that's another thread) but I prefer the TV TNG bridge over the one from Generations.

That actual set of the Enterprise D can never be used as a museum for fans to visit, since the ramp connecting the upper and lower halves of the bridge is too steep to meet public health and safety regulations. It's the whole reason why the replica of the bridge they had at Star Trek The Experience at Vegas was built all on one level.

That's a bummer. I kind of looked forward to being on that bridge, the same one that the TNG cast actually walked on, even if it's not the one from the early 90s back when TNG was in production. It is in the Star Trek Archives though as confirmed by Blass.

Then again I'm sure the steepness of the ramp isn't going to stop some determined superfan(s) from doing their own Enterprise D bridge recreation. But thanks for that piece of information because I've been wondering for years why EAV version of the bridge had that glaringly-obvious inconsistency that was the shallow ramp.

The one thing I don't get though. Is why they didn't update the D's bridge. All the ships from the Generations era are archaic looking compared to Pikes/ Kirks/Burnham's era. They should have not had carpet. Make it look bigger. Lots of bright led lights, window view screen and shiny as a new penny. But we got the bridge from the old outdated 1980's TV show. Back when they used cheap material and stuff you could find in any hotel lobby of the time...

I'm not sure of the in-universe reason for this but I can give you the behind-the-scenes reason:

The goal was to recreate the original TNG bridge as exact to the early 90s version of the set as possible. An "update" wouldn't have given that nostalgic effect that the recreation of the Season 4-7 bridge gave off so I'm glad they stuck with that. Plus remaking that bridge made it feel like an episode of TNG, which I'm sure was Matalas' goal.

 

[JamesRye]

I think bringing back the D was pure fan service. In universe, it makes little sense.

But I loved it.

Season 3 was so good. I wish it'd been season 1.

 

[C.E. Evans]

This is just my opinion; nothing more, nothing less. But the extra consoles installed on the walls were kind of pointless to me. There are the ops and con stations at the front, the tactical station behind the three seats, and then the aft stations in the back. That's quite enough.

As for the TNG bridge having "too much empty space" I actually prefer the extra space on the sides. It's nice to have space to be able to comfortably move around whereas the Generations bridge looked cramped with those side consoles that actually made the bridge look smaller. I don't mind Worf finally getting a chair though lol

I like to think that the Enterprise-D and the first batch of Galaxy-class starships were still works in progress. The design was still relatively new, and lessons learned during its first decade or so of service was still being implemented, leading to more and more refinements over the years, including the bridge layout.

Perhaps after years of hanging relatively close to Federation territory during the first phase of her operational lifetime, the Enterprise-D was being outfitted for a long-term deep space mission at the time of Generations and the added bridge consoles were a reflection of that. Unfortunately, the ship never got to embark on that mission...

 

[USSGander]

If my calculations are correct: assuming Federation Day is 'approximately' April 16 as per Captain Archer's log in 'Broken Bow', then it *roughly* corresponds to my birthday in the 25th century (stardates are fictional and approximate to our time, of course).

My eyes can't help but tear up a little when the Enterprise-D returns, for many sentimental reasons. It makes my terrestrial birthday a little more epic (fictionally), and a hope for the future which Captain Picard and his crew saves.

 

[The Wormhole]

If my calculations are correct: assuming Federation Day is 'approximately' April 16

According to Dave Blass, it's April 12.

 

[Admiral Archer]

I have teared up a couple times in my lifetime as a Star Trek fan. Hearing baby Jim Kirk's first cries as a baby in the 2009 Star Trek film and knowing who that baby will one day grow up to be, then later in that same movie, seeing him take command of the Enterprise and fulfill his destiny by sitting in the command chair for the first time, both had me very emotional.

But this was a completely different situation. I have cried at approximately five movies in my entire life, and all five of those experiences were before the age of 12. When I first recognized the silhouette of the Enterprise-D shrouded in shadow in that hangar bay, and the lights illuminated the registry number, within five seconds I was full on ugly crying bawling my eyes out. At no point in my adult life has a movie or TV show done that to me. The sheer childlike bliss overwhelmed me, it was like a flood of positive emotions like when Spock mind melded with V'Ger in the first Star Trek film.

The Starship Enterprise from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was NEVER just the Enterprise-D to me. She was THE Enterprise, just as Tom Baker and David Tennant and Matt Smith are all THE Doctor. She was also my home, and she was the one part of Star Trek that got me hooked. At age 4 with virtually no interest in Star Trek at all, I still loved the Enterprise-D, so much so that my Dad got me the Playmates Enterprise-D for Christmas that year. Later at age 7, he got me the Rick Sternbach Blueprints and a subscription to TNG on VHS tapes we got monthly for the next few years. THAT is the origin story of my time as a Star Trek fan, and is necessary backstory to why seeing that ship flying again meant so much to me. Because to me, THAT Enterprise IS Star Trek. Always has been, and maybe always will be.

 

[The Emissary]

I seriously wish I could go back and relive it. In the episode "Võx" when the doors to Hangar Bay 12 opened with the lights turning on one by one to reveal the Enterprise-D, I was absolutely awestruck. I had my hands covering my mouth that night I watched it.

Ditto x 1000.

 

[Danja]

I seriously wish I could go back and relive it. In the episode "Võx" when the doors to Hangar Bay 12 opened with the lights turning on one by one to reveal the Enterprise-D, I was absolutely awestruck. I had my hands covering my mouth that night I watched it.

I thought it was a cheap emotional ploy.

They should've assimilated the TNG crew (I realize now that they only had so much time to put so many people into prosthetics).

 

[somebuddyX]

In addition to what I already said, I like it better than what I originally thought had happened, either that it had got turned into scrap and ended up in a garbage dump, or that it was still sitting there on Veridian III rusting away. Not that I really expected the latter to happen but I really thought it was a striking image to have the forest growing back through the bridge and the fanart I've seen of that is beautiful.

 

[Praetor]

If it was a cheap emotional ploy, I was entirely here for it.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" is the "Star Trek" that hooked me, and as others have said the Enterprise-D was more than just a ship, more than just an Enterprise to me. I was never pleased with the end she met in "Generations." I saw it coming very early in the season, to the point that when Alandra LaForge mentioned "Hangar Twelve" I was certain what was likely to be coming. When the reveal happened, it was a huge ugly cry moment, and one that I've re-watched a lot in the time since it occurred. She looked great, kicked ass, and got to be retired to the museum. It was great to essentially see a character resurrected and given a more fitting ending.

 

[Admiral Archer]

I was exaggerating to make a point.

My point was that the E-D was outdated. (She was a museum piece -- she was cobbled together with parts from two different ships!)

Her outdated tech was the very thing that enabled her to complete her mission against the Borg in Picard S3.

That said, why drive a Model-T when a Lamborghini Murcielago is available?

Because Model-T's are cool? Even still, I don't think of the Enterprise-D as being a Model-T (the NX Alpha from the ENT episode "First Flight" was a Model-T), more like a Delorean; a beautiful machine which is plagued with technical issues and is not really in production anymore but it's nice to see them in use every once in a blue moon. I actually have head canon that the remaining Galaxy class ships which were in mothballs became popular command options for captains after the events of Picard Season 3 as training ships and testing beds for new tech. After all as a famous engineer once said, "just because something is old doesn't mean you throw it away."

 

[fireproof78]

The arrival falls entirely in to the rule of cool that is often treated poorly by fans, as well as the fact that it was used in the "pew pew" sequenced that is also often decried by Trek fans as Star Trek is to be an intellectual pursuit.

The double standard belies any emotional upswell I might have felt during the episode.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

It was like cotton candy. It tastes really good and then then you’re left feeling empty.

 

[Moviefan2k4]

I have all the Blu-Rays for Picard, and the only one I've completed so far is Season 1. But when I saw the return of the Enterprise listed on my YouTube feed, I just had to watch it...and words don't exist to describe how happy I was. I like both DS9 and Voyager, but it was TNG that mostly got me into this franchise. Those characters have been a part of me since I was 7 years old, and I have never stopped loving their adventures.

 

[Admiral Kirk]

I am big fan of the Enterprise D. I loved watching it fly again. However, I also felt that it was unrealistic. Until I thought about the Dominion War. If you look at the US Naval Fleet destroyed at Pearl Harbor in 1941 you will see the monumental effort it took to restore the bulk of that fleet back to active service. They fixed them all expect the Arizona and Utah.

If one uses their imagination a little you can imagine that some Galaxy class lost their saucer section in combat during the dominion war or even in the Battle of Sector 001 in first contact.

During wartime money and resources are not considered as much as in peace time and the resources needed to bring the Ent-D saucer back to service could have been allocated.

It is possible that Starfleet had a few Star Drives without a saucer and there was the Enterprise D saucer was sitting there.

Though incredibly expensive they authorize the resources to have it refurbished to be used to attach to a stardrive with a missing saucer.

The war takes a turn for the better and funds dry up for starship construction but they did enough restoration work prior to that so Geordi is able to pick up the torch and finish the job.

If the saucer was so badly damaged that it would crumble if touched then it would have crumbled apart during the crash long before it came to a rest. If you watch the movie you can see when it comes to a final stop it tries to go a little further but the weight of it pulls it backwards and it settles. This clearly indicates that it had a semblance of structual integrity left,

Also note that causalties were light as Picard stated. This ship did not fall apart. It did as it was designed and held together. The bridge looked in bad shape when Riker and Picard beamed out but it looked better right after the crash when the Bridge crew was collecting themselves. Maybe it was because classified technology was removed.